Jake von Slatt Archive

How to Build a Wimshurst Influence Machine – Part 4

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   This is part four in a series of articles describing how to build a Wimshurst Influence Machine with parts and materials available at your local home center and hardware store.  In this part I detail the construction Leyden jars and the final assembly. If you missed the beginning

How to Build a Wimshurst Influence Machine – Operating the Machine

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   This is the final part in a series of articles describing how to build a Wimshurst Influence Machine with parts and materials available at your local home center and hardware store.  In this part I detail setting the machine up and making some sparks! If you missed the

Skylights for Jake’s School Bus RV Conversion

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About two years ago I found these lovely skylights at our town dump, they had been removed from someones roof but were in otherwise excellent shape and they even included the manufacturer's installation instructions!  I grabbed them with the intent of installing them in our school bus conversion RV.

DIY RV Macerator Pump

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When you own an RV one of the things you have to deal with is dumping the waste tanks at the end of your stay in a campground.  This is generally not a big deal, you pull up to the dump station, usually located along the driveway on your

Retro Cellphone Handset

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Here’s a project of mine from a few years ago, it’s an LG mobile ’embedded’ into an old Western Electric model 500 handset. The Bell Model 500 desk phone manufactured for decades by Western Electric is an icon of Twentieth Century product design.  The evolution of the Model 500’s

Hardshell Bicycle Trunk

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Here are some pictures of a hard shell trunk I made for my all-weather commuter bike out of an industrial dual compartment mop bucket. Originally published at Bike-Recumbent.com.  Here are some pictures of a hard shell trunk I made for my all-weather commuter out of an industrial dual compartment

Foundry Furnace – Part 3 – Casting the Refractory

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This is the top of the furnace, it needs a 2" hole to let the hot gasses escape so I hammered a tapered dowel into the pipe fitting and used a hole saw on my Milwaukee Magnum Hole-shooter (The most powerful hand drill known to man – use the

Toyota Sienna Body Repair

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If you follow me on Twitter you know that I had a near death encounter with a flying chunk of steel last week . This is how I spent my Saturday. . . . I was in the far left lane on Rt. 128 and a big rig in

Makeshift Forklift

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A couple of months ago The Lady asked me to move the kid’s playhouse to a different part of the yard.  Not having access to a fork lift, I fig’red that I could mount a 2" hitch ball on the Yaris’ tow bar and make a "fork truck" with

Short Wheelbase Recumbent Bike

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Collecting Materials: After getting my shop in order and purchasing a new drill press I began to collect the donor bikes: The black one is a Bridgestone that was hit by a car, it will donate the head and bottom bracket shells, handlebars and brake levels.  The red bike